Children’s Globe

On March 29, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles3 Comments

Mom found another puzzle ball for children, as usual she couldn’t help herself even though the last two puzzle balls we’ve gotten had pieces missing. Always the optimist! Luckily for us not only were all the pieces there, we liked the image much more than the last one and it was a lot of fun to assemble.

The quality of these 3D puzzles is very good and I find them quite entertaining. The pieces are made of thick plastic and fit together very snugly so that they stay together without glue. All the pieces are also numbered on the back with an arrow underneath the number pointing in the direction that the next number should go. You can assemble the puzzle using only the numbers, only the image, or a combination of the two.

I like to separate the pieces by the numbers in groups of ten, then flip them over and use the image to put them together. We’ve put them together only using the numbers before, and it’s just not as satisfying for us. But puzzles are supposed to be fun, and whichever way makes you happy is the way you should do it.

Ravensburger has puzzle balls from 54 to 540 pieces, and I think they’re a lot of fun. If you come across one in a thrift store give it a try, you just might have a great time!

Holland

On March 28, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

I love collages, they’re my favorite type of puzzle. This one took me almost an entire week, not because it was too difficult but because I’m just having a hard time puzzling these days. I may have to start posting every other day, my backlog of puzzles ready to post is dwindling fast! 😦

I find that collages are the easiest puzzles to assemble; even if you don’t have a lot of time you can grab the pieces for a small section and put them together. When I’m only able to sit for only a few minutes I can still complete a small portion of the puzzle and still get a small sense of satisfaction for my little victory.

This puzzle was pretty good quality; it’s a random cut, so the assembly was interesting and kept me on my toes which is always a good thing in my book. The pieces are a good thickness and fit together well but were a little loose for my taste. The image reproduction was very good and the overall image is beautiful and interesting.

The picture doesn’t do this puzzle justice, it’s bright and colorful and was pretty fun to assemble. Re-marks has some excellent collages to choose from, I believe this one was a Barnes and Noble exclusive we got during the January bogo sale. It’s dangerous for me to go puzzle shopping in a brick and mortar store, there are too many fantabulous puzzles to choose from, and I end up not choosing between puzzles and just buying all the ones I want. 😮

Review: The Typewriter

On March 27, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviewsLeave a comment

This post is sponsored by Puzzle Warehouse.

The Typewriter by William Doree – Clementoni – 500 pieces

The Typewriter is a gorgeous puzzle that took my breath away when I saw it, and although it seems very dark and difficult to assemble, it was a joy!

I don’t have a ton of experience working Clementoni puzzles, but the ones I’ve done have been impressive; the pieces are a good thickness, have a nice variety of piece shapes, and have a linen finish that feels good in your hands. The fit of this puzzle was a bit loose but still workable, though I did have to take care when moving small sections around the board. The image reproduction is crisp and clear with no fuzziness, and although it’s not an overly colorful picture it’s a fun image that I really enjoyed assembling. Clementoni has an excellent catalog of landscapes, illustrations, photography and fine art to choose from, click here to see all their puzzles currently available at Puzzle Warehouse.

I enjoyed this assembly very much, and though it looks dark there were not many pieces that were all black (not nearly as many as in Ruby Red!) The pieces were relatively easy to sort and assemble and the more I worked the more fun I had. It’s a little more difficult when you first begin sorting to know what everything is, but the more you assemble the more familiar you become with the pieces. I love old typewriters, and I’m so glad I got to assemble this puzzle – it was great fun! 👍

Details:

Title: The Typewriter
Artist: William Doree
Brand: Clementoni
Piece count: 500 pieces
Size: Approx. 19 x 14 in. (49 x 36 cm)
Purchased: N/A, sent for review

Quality:

Board: Very good
Cutting: Excellent
Image: Excellent
Box: Average
Fit: Somewhat loose
Puzzle Dust: Almost none
Piece cut: Grid cut
Piece shapes: Very good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Very good, recommended

I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.

Paw Patrol (3)

On March 26, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

This is the last of the 3 puzzles in one box we purchased at the thrift store. Beautiful Ravensburger puzzles that are cute, premium quality, and quite fun to assemble.

I always enjoy putting together a small piece count puzzle, whether it’s for children or adults makes no difference. It’s nice to be able to complete a puzzle from start to finish in one sitting, and it brightens up my mood. Fortunately my mother has a moderate thrift store shopping addiction and there is definitely no shortage of puzzles for me to choose from! She has gotten better though at being a little more choosy about the puzzles she buys, but she can still go a little crazy once in a while. 😉

If you read this blog regularly you already know that Ravensburger puzzles are my favorite brand, their quality is absolutely excellent. If you buy puzzles for children the brands I recommend most are Ravensburger, Cobble Hill, and Eurographics; although in my mind buying puzzles for kids is a fantastic idea whatever the brand.

You’ve heard it from me before, assembling jigsaw puzzles is good for your brain and especially for the developing brains of children. It promotes hand/eye coordination, spatial awareness, problem solving skills, patience, and perseverance along with many other benefits. Give a child a puzzle and you’re helping to grow a young mind, what better gift could you give?

Stuffed Animal Collection

On March 25, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

IMG_E4370 — Stuffed Animal Collection by Susan Rosenthal – Milton Bradley – 300 pieces

I didn’t enjoy this puzzle as much as I thought I would. The bears don’t seem very cute to me and the fit was pretty loose. Perhaps this puzzle was assembled many times – I’ve never had a large piece MB puzzle that fit this loosely.

The pieces were thick, but the image reproduction seemed a bit blurry. It’s difficult when you’ve got stuffed animals because they’re actually fluffy, but the pieces seemed a little more fuzzy than furry. Overall I wasn’t a fan of image, so that also plays into how I feel about the puzzle in general.

Whether it was the loose fit or the image I just wasn’t feeling this one and didn’t have as much fun as I’d hoped. As I sit here now typing up this post I’m struggling for things to say, either good or bad. I didn’t care for this puzzle, but in general Milton Bradley puzzles are very good quality – especially their 300 piece EZ grip puzzles.

Like this image? I say if you find this puzzle and it looks like fun, go for it! Everyone’s puzzle preferences are so different; the characteristics that I think make a good puzzle could be the one thing that you really can’t stand. The thing you love could be the one thing I can’t tolerate, but luckily there are so many brands and so many images that there’s always something for everyone.